There are 44 notable releases coming up next week.
Time to start Christmas shopping.
First, the genre releases:
- Adventures
of
Superman – Season One: The first season of the
George Reeves
series hits DVD this week. The second season was just
announced for a
January 17 release. - Batman
– The
Complete 1943 Movie Serial Collection: This is now
the only
theatrically released Batman that I haven’t
seen. It’s
tempting for that reason alone. This is the first
time this has been
available on DVD. - Batman:
This is the Tim Burton film in a two DVD special
edition, and it’s the
only one of the new special editions that really
tempts me. - Batman
Returns: This was the first step down the path to
character
saturation. They did a decent enough job this time,
but the series
took a hit for it from here on. - Batman
Forever: This 2 DVD special edition is the first
without Tim
Burton directing, which is obvious a few seconds into
the movie. - Batman
and
Robin: This is a new 2 DVD special edition. - Batman
– The
Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997: That extra
long title means
it’s a box set of the 2 DVD editions of the movies Tim
Burton was
involved with, either as director or producer. - Batman
Begins: This is the 2 DVD special edition of this
release too,
though fans will be happy to know that the 2 DVD
edition is out on the
same day as the regular edition. I’ve had this
preordered since it
was announced several months ago. - Batman
vs. Dracula: This direct to video release is in
the continuity of
the new The Batman animated series on the
WB. - Dark
Shadows –
The Revival – The Complete Series: This is the
attempt to bring a
vampire soap opera back to the air. 21 volumes of the
original series
have been released and/or announced. - Day
of the
Dead 2 – Contagium: Did this even get a theatrical
release? - Elektra
(Unrated Director’s Cut): This lists all of the
special features,
but doesn’t mention specifically which changes were
made. I don’t own
the theatrical version, so I’ve ordered this
instead. - The
Emperor’s
New Groove – The New Groove Edition: David Spade
made a movie I
enjoyed. Disturbing, that. - Fern
Gully –
The Last Rainforest (Family Fun Edition): This was
a very
enjoyable movie. Strongly recommended to those with
little ones. - Galacticon:
The 25th Anniversary “Battlestar Galactica”
Celebration:
Technically not genre itself, this behind the scenes
look at the
original Battlestar Galactica and its star was listed
here as most of
the people interested in it are genre fans. - Gatchaman
Vol. 5 and 6: The gorgeous Alex Ross box art
continues. - He-Man
and the
Masters of the Universe – Season One, Volume 1:
This includes its
own art cards by Alex Ross and Bill Sienkiewicz.
Also, massive
nostalgia may be had. - Hilarious
House of Frightenstein: Speaking of nostalgia,
those of us who
just celebrated Thanksgiving will probably remember
this Vincent Price
educational children’s series. Great series set in a
castle populated
by various monsters. - Land
of the
Dead (Unrated Edition): George A. Romero doing
what he does
best. - Legend
of
Zelda: Complete Animated Series: This includes all
Zelda segments
from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show. - Metropolis
and
Things to Come: The recently reviewed
Metropolis combined
with H.G. Wells’ Things to Come in a single,
dirt cheap
package. I have concerns about the quality of the
reproduction, but
not about the quality of the films. If you want to
give
Metropolis a shot but you’re not thrilled
with shelling out
for the Kino edition I recommended, consider this
one. - The (New) Outer Limits – Season Four:
This Canada-only
release of the fourth season from Koch Canada is of
the Canadian
(ie. edited) versions of the episodes. Not all online
retailers list
it, and many stores may not carry it right away,
because it was
announced on rather short notice. It’s a 7 DVD set, so
we’ll probably
see four episodes on each disk to cover all 26
episodes from the
season. MGM has thus far only released
theme packages, but the first complete season
collection from them
(which will not be edited) will hit DVD on November 1,
2005. - Tarzan
(Special Edition): I seem to recall a 2 DVD
edition when this
first came out, so I don’t know what would make this
more special. - The
Twilight
Zone – Season 4 (The Definitive Edition): This is
the original Rod
Serling version of the show. - Ultimate
Cartoon Collection: This has Mighty Mouse, Woody
Woodpecker, and
the Three Stooges, all of which I’ve been looking to
add to my
collection. It’s quite tempting…
Now, the non-genre releases:
- American
Movie
Musicals Collection: West Side Story,
Fiddler on the
Roof, and Guys and Dolls are all
included. I’ve seen
them all, and they are good as musicals go. If you
like the genre,
check this out. - The
Big
Lebowski: This is a new collector’s edition
release of a movie
previously available. - The
Bruce Lee
Ultimate Collection: There are 5 DVDs here, but I
can’t read the
titles on the box art. It’s a release from Fox Home
Entertainment, so
you can expect whatever they are to be of good
quality. - CSI:
NY –
Season One: The first season of the third CSI
series. - Charlie
Chaplin: Forgotten Years: I don’t know if this is
a collection of
older shorts or a documentary. - Classic
Cops
and Robbers 5 Pack: A 5 DVD set from Sony. Again,
I have no idea
what the specific contents are. People need to have
words with their
marketing managers. - The
Coen
Brothers Collection: This includes the
aforementioned edition of
The Big Lebowski, as well as Blood
Simple,
Intolerable Cruelty, and The Man Who
Wasn’t There. - Home
Alone /
Home Alone 3: In one of the strangest packaging
moves I’ve seen,
the odd numbered Home Alone movies are
available in one
package, while the even numbered movies are in a
second set. - Home
Alone 2 /
Home Alone 4: I didn’t even know they made a
fourth. - I,
Mobster: Directed by Roger Corman. You know it
will be very bad
in a very fun way. - The
Jazz
Singer – 25th Anniversary Edition: This is the
Neil Diamond
version, and not the world’s first sound film. (As
far as I can tell,
the original isn’t even available on DVD. I’d like to
own a copy.) - Lifeboat:
A special edition release of a 1944 Hitchcock film.
One of the first
instances of the technical challenges he set for
himself, this film
mostly takes place in the title boat. - Man
with the
Golden Arm (50th Anniversary Edition): Frank
Sinatra and Kim Novak
directed by Otto Preminger with a musical score by
Elmer Bernstein.
It’s probably pretty good. - The
Mark of
Zorro: Available colourized and in black and
white, this is a
special edition release of the 1940 film. - The
Mask of
Zorro: This is a deluxe edition of the movie that
introduced
Catherine Zeta Jones to the world seven years ago,
released just in
time for the sequel. - Of
Human
Bondage: Leslie Howard and Bette Davis star in
this one. - Saw
(Uncut
Edition): Just in time for the sequel. - Unseen
Cinema
– Early American Avant Garde Film (1894-1941):
We’ve reviewed avant
garde material
before. Expect the unexpected. Don’t expect
logic. - Unseen
Cinema:
Picturing a Metropolis: This is a collection of 26
short films
about New York.
Finally, the pick of the week. There are many, many
to choose from.
This is the first of several populace weeks to come.
I have to choose
Batman Begins, which edges out
Serenity as the best
movie I’ve seen this year. Definitely my pick.